Hartford might be the most consistent tour stop for above average shows, though this year's pair aren't the tour peak (maybe start with the Worcester shows or MSG). This show has been known as "the Trey show", after he cited it as his first, the one that mapped him out. For decades there was no SBD in circ, which is one reason it was tapped for an early Dick's Picks. The other reason is the notable Scar>Fire. The OFF is dry, with some elements missing; you might have better luck with a MTX.

First Set. The mix for Alabama Getaway is a mess on SBDs/OFF; use AUDs. The verses are still a trainwreck but at least the playing will sound better. Jer, for a second, tries for Promised Land (it had appeared earlier in the tour), but Bobby overrides. They are still trying to warm up on Greatest Story, and the mix slowly settles. Bobby is hoarse like it's the last show of the tour and there's some drummer soup, but then comes a turnaround. They Love Each Other blows wide with Brent, then Jer. Bobby has less luck on Mama Tried (it's still GOGD), but overall it's Bobby that adds to the sweetened Big River. While he flexes his tremolo arm, Jer lays an unexpectedly gravy end solo. The quality of this Althea creeps up on you. Great ensemble playing, particularly Bobby/Brent [the MTX is more convincing]. See, See Rider Blues has a serious Bobby's Slide Practice™ session, but Jer lays a great line and Brent's good. The OFF has a cut of 1min6sec cut @4:39, editing out some of BSP. Tennessee Jed is okay, if a bit shaky on the verses [here the MTX is much better]. A flat Hellina and a Day Job with befuddled verses set up the break. This set sprinkles great into the mediocre.

Second Set. This set, if not the show, is all about the jaw-dropping, 30min Scar>Fire. One of the longest, the meted superlatives for Scarlet are well-earned [the OFF clips off very beginning]. And Fire on the Mountain even builds on top of that (plus check the input from Mickey). Weirdly, @6:34>6:52 the OFF substitutes with 9/13/83 [showing that the vault has that SBD]. Bobby revives the "cars below" line for Estimated, and Jer mostly makes up for his flat-or-yelping and the drummer soup. But wait – the jam into Eyes ain't a kick in the knees or stung by the bees. After the verses there are a couple more good parts as well, though Phil breaks off long before the others. On the OFF, Drums has a cut of 34secs @4:41. The OFF calls this Space "Spinach Jam", as a riff on Spanish Jam, which Bobby starts quoting after ~5mins. Jer picks it up ~1min later, then shifts instead to quoting TOO (and briefly both @around 8mins!). Spanish is common in Space in '83 and there are better examples, but this is a great The Other One due to tight transitions and a "okay, yeah, we got this...we got this" feel. The year is also thick with great Stellas but this one stands up. Dig how Billy (?) decides it's time to kick it up @~7:30, followed by Bobby/Brent landing on the same note & tone. Sugar Mag has some small trainwrecks for Bobby (just the caboose fishtailing), but the Heads are left happy with a good U.S. Blues (demonstrare: use MTX, listen for the nice fills from Bobby & Brent).

1st Set:  C
2nd Set: B
Overall = 3¼ stars    [MTX = 3½ stars]

Highlights:
They Love Each Other – turnaround to X
Big River – Jer w/gravy end solo, but Bobby really adds
Althea – better than memory; now sold
Scarlet Begonias>Fire on the Mountain – superlatives well-earned
The Other One>Stella Blue – they've got this

SOURCES: A SBD finally emerged (150969_sbd_eaton-latvala). The 153345_mtx_dusborne is a fine tape matrix & there's a Seamons. There have always been good AUDs: the Jim Wise (wise_miller_103233); now a two-AUD matrix (151597_senn_neumann). Most of the show is on Dick's 6.

Yes, some are partial to the next night, but there's no denying this second set: Classic Scarlet-Fire ("marimba" opening is so distinct), Eyes psychedelic meltdown, Spanish Jam->Other One->Stella Blue.

Oh, and there's this (as others have mentioned):

"Back in 1983, Trey Anastasio was just finding his way in the world. A young man of 19 years, he attended a Grateful Dead concert at the Hartford Civic Center on October 14, 1983. Reflecting on the experience later on, Anastasio said, 'It was like getting hit in the head with a baseball bat.'"

https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/trey-anastasio-first-dead-show/

Found out the afternoon of the show that I had passed the CT bar exam. So when my buddies from college made it from NY that afternoon, things got drunk, stoned, and stupid at warp speed!!! Times Cafe for many shots with some fellow exam passers.... then off to the show.... Okay 1st set. Some slow stuff.... some shaky playing.... but on balance a decent set. And I happened to like Day Job... Maybe I was just looking for a new Jerry tune to go with Touch of Grey.... balance out the new Bobby stuff like Bucket and Brother Esau and Throwing Stones... or maybe these early versions were just fun to dance to.... whatever the case, compared to Corrina and Easy Answers, it's a fantastic tune.... but I digress.... Now where was I?? Oh yeah, an okay 1st set.... But then the Scarlet>Fire..... OMG!!! 30 minutes of joy..... Estimated>Eyes was solid as well.... post drumz was standard fare..... well enough played, but nothing spectacular.... just enough juice on this Friday night to make you want to be there the next night..... and damn was that a great time..... but that's not why I'm writing now.... I'm writing about 10/14.... As the kids used to say on American Bandstand.... well Dick.... it has a good beat.... fun to dance to... I give this show 4 stars because you can't give a show with that Scarlet>Fire anything less...... Rock on my friends.... and keep on keeping on....

Brent noodles around with a keyboard sound to start the second set that is a harbinger of things to come.

I believe this is Trey's first dead show.

When you see “Taped By: Jim Wise” and “Transferred By: Charlie Miller” in a mid 80’s AUD, chances are only good things can happen. Well, in this recently added AUD of the well known DP show, “good” may be an understatement. The Hartford Civic Center may have been a rather nasty place, but its acoustics produced some amazing AUD’s over the years and this one definitely ranks among the better of those. Everything comes through crisp and clean, with the crowd noise not overpowering the music, but there is just enough to get a feel for the magic going on in the building that night. Phil is up front and center, pushing Jerry into some great explorations. The soaring Scarlet/Fire is a true classic, with one of my favorite transition jams. Jerry and Phil seem to revel in teasing the start of Fire several times before Phil drops the hammer and off they go into a place where your brain is removed through your ears, kicked around like a Liberal at a Tea Party convention (but in a good way) and then slammed back into your cranium, just in time to be shot in the face by a wigged out Dick Cheney (again, in a very good way). This is yet another time I am more than Grateful to have an excuse to dust of this monster. Mr. Wise produced a multitude of some of the best AUD’s I’ve ever heard and Mr. Miller has taken his work and lovingly molded it into the gem we have here today. Thank you both so much for sharing your love of the music with all of us (even the haters) and giving us so many different ways to love this music.

In other words, put down the commercial release and dig on this...I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

This posting provides the best sound quality for this amazing show from October 1983, a high point for the 80's / Brent era.